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“The new system will be an improvement of the current one. But the universal valve will be staying to ensure that once you buy a cylinder you are able to fit it with your burner without any problems,” he said in Mombasa.

Under the current plan, oil marketers accept their rivals’ empty cylinders when a customer wants to refill, making it convenient for buyers. The dealers then exchange the cylinders, each taking their brand at their rivals’ depots.

The marketers are, however, obligated to pay a fee to their rivals to cover deposit fee for the cylinder the customers exchanged during refilling at their station.

But some oil marketers, especially small ones, have been blamed for delays in repaying their rivals the deposit fee. The ERC reviews the deposit fees every three months to match dealers’ costs in acquiring them in the period.

“We have been approached by our licencees on the need to do away with the current framework. This framework has worked well for us although there are operational challenges,” said Mr Oimeke.

Before the switch to use of universal valves in 2009, each dealer had their unique valve, restricting consumers to a certain brand during refills. This arrangement inconvenienced homes located far from their respective dealers.